The present invention relates to the harnessing of solar light, and, more particularly, to a device and method for producing electricity by amplifying a voltage using solar light.
More energy from sunlight strikes the Earth in one hour (4.3×1020 J) than all the energy consumed on the planet in a year (4.1×1020 J). Although, as of 2001, solar electricity was a $7.5 billion industry growing at a rate of 35-40% per annum, solar electricity provided less than 0.1% of the world's electricity. The huge gap between the present use of solar energy and the enormous undeveloped potential thereof defines a major challenge in energy research. Covering 0.16% of the land on Earth with 10% efficient solar conversion systems would provide 20 TW of power, nearly twice the world's consumption rate of fossil energy.
However, the cost per watt of delivered electricity produced from solar light, for example, by means of photovoltaic cells, needs to be significantly reduced, to economically compete with primary fossil energy.
A state-of-the art report of the Basic Energy Sciences Workshop on Solar Energy Utilization (“Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy Utilization”, U.S. Department of Energy, Apr. 18-21, 2005; http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/reports/files/SEU_rpt.pdf) provides an overview of key scientific challenges and research directions that may enable efficient and economic use of the solar resource to provide a significant fraction of global primary energy by the mid 21st century.
These research directions notwithstanding, it is believed that there is room and need for additional directions, and further improvements, in the harnessing of solar energy to produce electricity, and the subject matter of the present disclosure and claims is aimed at fulfilling this need.